Citizens & Northern Corp Cuts Stock Position in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Citizens & Northern Corp decreased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,586 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the fourth quarter worth $518,975,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Estée Lauder Companies by 68.5% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,720,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,850,000 after buying an additional 1,512,982 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,311,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,271 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 132.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,735,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,901,000 after purchasing an additional 988,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Estée Lauder Companies by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,022,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,087,000 after purchasing an additional 742,449 shares during the last quarter. 55.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EL traded down $4.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $126.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,637,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,774,504. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a PE ratio of 73.49, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 1.07. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.22 and a fifty-two week high of $204.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $141.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.54.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $3.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 4.18%. Estée Lauder Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Estée Lauder Companies from $160.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley downgraded Estée Lauder Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $164.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised Estée Lauder Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.92.

Insider Activity at Estée Lauder Companies

In related news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total value of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Estée Lauder Companies news, insider Peter Jueptner sold 12,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.62, for a total transaction of $1,670,107.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,598.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tracey Thomas Travis sold 14,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.73, for a total value of $1,967,134.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 47,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,412,971.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 12.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.